August 2, 2002

The rainbow Emmys

Gay shows get dozens of nominations for television awards

The Emmy statuette, given out annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, is a lithe female, dressed in a flowing gown, arms extended heavenward. In her hands she holds aloft the world. This

West Wing

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year the academy may well consider adding a rainbow around that globe.

The nominations for the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on Thursday, July 18 by E.R.'s Laura Innes and Will and Grace's Eric McCormack, who was the only main performer of the series not to be nominated. He won in the leading actor category last year and his absence from the nominations this year was a huge surprise to fans and critics alike.

This year's highest nominated drama and comedy series are both, for lack of a better term, gay shows. HBO's hit series about a clan of dysfunctional funeral directors, Six Feet Under, walked away with an amazing 23 nominations, the most received by any show this year and only four shy of NYPD Blue's record-breaking 27 nominations in 1994.

NBC's Will and Grace was the mostnominated comedy series with 13 nods. While discussions and debates about gay-only cable channels go on, network and regular cable channels seem to be doing just fine in the area of criticand audience-acclaimed LGBT programming.

McCormack took his omission in good stride. Looking back at the monitors behind him while announcing the nominees, he did a double take when he didn't see his name. Then he wryly noted, "It's just as well-you know how hard it is to get a sitter?"

McCormack's snub notwithstanding, television shows for, by, and about LGBT people have run away with the most nominations this year.

Six Feet Under is certain to be on top of the

Six Feet Under

world and somewhere over the rainbow with its whopping 23 nominations. In addition to Outstanding Drama Series, the show has been recognized in the Lead Acting categories with nods for stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Rachel Griffiths and Frances Conroy. Created by openly gay writer and producer Alan Ball (Oscar winner for American Beauty), Six Feet Under has become a television phenomenon, exceeding even the high-

est expectations for the series when it broke ground two years ago.

The very gay-friendly show The West Wing (NBC) was only a tiny step behind Six Feet Under with 21 nominations of its own, including Outstanding Drama, a Lead Actor nod for Martin Sheen and a Lead Actress nomination for Allison Janney who has won in the Supporting Actress category two years in a row.

Newcomer Freddy Rodriguez has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the HBO series alongside West Wing's Dulé Hill, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff.

For Supporting Actress, Lauren Ambrose from Six Feet Under will compete with West Wing's MaryLouise Parker, Stockard Channing and Janel Moloney, and Tyne Daly from Judging Amy.

Will and Grace received acting nominations for Debra Messing (Lead Actress) who is presently the only cast member without an Emmy statuette. This may very well be her year. Perennial favorites Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes were once again nominated in the Supporting Actress and Actor categories respectively.

Apart from Will and Grace, in the

Sean Hayes

arena of comedy, Emmy announced plenty of surprises, starting with some long-deserved recognition for NBC's resurgent Friends, which has also always been very gay-friendly. The series scored its fifth nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series in this its ninth and final season. In addition, half the cast scored acting nods. After years of entering themselves for the Supporting Actor races, they changed strategy this year, and Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry each nabbed Lead Actor nominations.

The very popular series, particularly among gay and lesbian audiences, Sex and the City will compete with Friends and Will and Grace alongside HBO's quirky Larry David se-

ries Curb Your Enthusiasm, and CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond.

In the Made-for-TV Movie category, HBO's The Laramie Project, based on the aftermath of Matthew Shepard's murder, has been highly acclaimed and nominated. In its category The Laramie Project will compete with TNT's biopic about James Dean, three other HBO films -the adaptation of Dinner

Megan Mullally

with Friends, The Gathering Storm and Path to War. The inimitable Stockard Channing, who received a nomination in the Supporting Actress (Drama Series) cat-

egory for playing the First Lady on The West Wing, has also been nominated for Supporting Actress (Miniseries or Movie) for playing Judy Shepard in the NBC biopic, The Matthew Shepard Story.

Incidentally, Channing has a long history of being nominated, often twice in the same year like this one, and has yet to win an award. She could break her Susan Lucciesque losing streak at the Emmys this year.

In the Guest Actor categories LGBT shows have also done very well. Michael Douglas was nominated for his guest turn as a gay detective and Glenn Close for her comedic Sanny, both on Will and Grace.

In addition to its six acting nominations in the lead and supporting categories, Six Feet Under received three Guest Actress nods for Patricia Clarkson as Sarah O'Connor, Lily Taylor as Lisa, and Illeana Douglas as Angela.

Fans of Showtime's erotically-charged Queer as Folk will be disappointed with the show's zero nominations.

The lesson here, perhaps, is not that LGBT shows aren't being recognized-this year's nominations put to rest any such theories. Rather, it may be a message to the QAF team that great writing, powerful stories and multidimensional characters trump explicit sex any day. At least in the world of awards.

The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in a live ceremony on CBS on September 22. Last year's show was delayed twice due to the September 11 attacks and the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan. In the aftermath of that very serious time, the amazing Ellen DeGeneres hosted the show with chutzpah and aplomb. This year, however, the show will be hosted by late night personality Conan O'Brien.

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